Organic food emerging as lucrative industry

For the first half year of 2013, the industrial value-added output of food processing ranked second in Heilongjiang province following petroleum and natural gas exploitation, said Lu Hao, governor of Heilongjiang.

"With a 19.3 percent increase, the food processing industry has exceeded the petrochemical and equipment manufacturing industry."

Located in the northeastern part of China, Heilongjiang is rich in natural resources. Recent years have seen a period of rapid development in the province's organic food industry.

Recognized as one of the industries with the biggest potential, organic food has been made a priority in the provincial government's agenda.

"The government invests 8 to 10 billion yuan ($1.3 billion to $1.6 billion) in the organic food industry every year," Lu said.

On the opening day of Hong Kong & Macao and Taiwan Commodities Fair in Shenzhen on Nov 28, the province's top 10 organic food brands attracted a lot of attention. Among them, a variety of rice provided by the East Granary Company was the most popular one.

The company has established industrial zones for rice processing in three of the province's high-quality rice-producing areas, including Wuchang, Fangzheng and Zhaoyuan.

With each area's annual processing capacity exceeding 300,000 tons, the company has become the leader of Heilongjiang's rice processing industries.

In the early morning of the opening day, the organic food delegation members from Heilongjiang presented the exhibitors and visitors with some hot and steamy rice cooked in a rice cooker.